The Substitute Read Online Free PDF Page A

scrutinized. He could see why Megan was scared of her mother. She was intimidating in the way that only stately women of a certain age could be.
    An older man stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “Oh, for God’s sake, Nicole, let the man be. Is this really how you want to meet your future son-in-law?”
    Josh shook his head. “See, there’s been a misunderstanding.” But he had to wonder why they didn’t know what Megan’s ex-fiancé looked like. Sure, they’d never met the guy, but hadn’t they at least seen photos?
    Megan’s father shot his wife a weighted grimace. “The only misunderstanding is that Nicole is trying to micromanage everything. Like always.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m Megan’s father, Bart Vandemeer. Nice to finally meet the man who’s marrying my little girl. It’s Jay, isn’t it?”
    Josh gaped at the man, at a loss for words. For once in his life he hadn’t bothered to come up with an intricate plan before jumping into a situation. He’d asked for fate to intervene and the very man he needed to talk to had been dropped right in front of him.
    For once in his life, he was going to just go for it.
    He shifted Megan on his shoulder and awkwardly held out his hand for a shake, still speechless. These people obviously had no idea he wasn’t Megan’s real fiancé. How wrong would it be if he used that to his advantage? After all, he’d be helping Megan too. She was in no condition to deal with her family at the moment. “Josh, actually.”
    Bart Vandemeer looked confused. “Megan told us your name was Jay.”
    “Oh…Jay is my nickname. You can call me Jay or Josh, but I usually go by Josh.”
    “What?” Nicole Vandemeer shrieked, her voice raising a full octave. “All the materials for the wedding list your name as Jay.”
    Josh struggled to keep from grimacing. “Jay is fine. It really doesn’t matter.”
    “I don’t know why Megan doesn’t tell me these things,” the woman grumbled. An elderly woman grinned like a Cheshire cat behind her, as if finding the whole exchange amusing.
    Megan’s father ignored his wife. “Well, Josh. Welcome to Kansas City.” The older man beamed. “We look forward to getting to know you better.”
    Bart Vandemeer had no idea how much Josh was looking forward to getting to know him too.
     

     

Chapter Four
     
     
    When Megan woke, she was pretty sure the pounding in her head was about to split it wide open. This was worse than the New Year’s Eve party she’d gotten so drunk on tequila shooters she stood up on the coffee table and serenaded “My Heart Will Go On” to her then-boyfriend…only to break up with him an hour later when she found him kissing Lisa Menendez at midnight with enough tongue to contradict his protests that it was a friendly peck.
    Now that she thought about it, cheating boyfriends had been a constant in her dating life. She knew the topic deserved closer inspection, but there was no way she could psychoanalyze herself until she’d taken an ibuprofen.
    It took her a second to orient herself. She was lying on her stomach, her cheek pressed against something soft and wet. When she finally pried her eyes open, she was surprised to find herself in her old bedroom. Her vision was blurry until it focused on a familiar bulletin board attached to a lavender wall. She’d hung the board up the summer before her freshman year of high school, ready to capture her high school memories with her two best friends, Blair and Libby. The three of them were together in plenty of the photos—at football games, class trips, and sleepovers. But there were also individual shots of Libby in her cheerleader uniform and Blair in her business suit, ready for a debate match. The familiar pang of regret and inferiority flooded her.
    Megan had never found her place in high school. Part of the problem was her mom’s unrelenting quest to make her into some kind of mini-me. Her mother never seemed to tire of